We have to put our country above everything else. Without your country you are nothing. That's the bottom line. Until we learn to work for the country, I don't think things will move ahead, says Adeeb Shuhaiber, famous television newscaster and radio presenter. In this interview with the Arab Times he shares his views as a commoner on politics and social life in Kuwait. He also touches upon deteriorating family values in the state, exploring some of the basic reasons for this decline. He also says tourism could be a viable option for the diversification of the nation's economy.
Q: Politically, what do you think is ailing Kuwait?
A: I think the Parliament needs to focus purely on a political platform. I don't think there should be any other consideration. From this political platform, the focus should be to move Kuwait forward in terms of development.
But I don't think that's happening at the moment. All the major developmental projects are being done by the government, which I think should be done by the Parliament. The Parliament should concentrate more on big issues with a political nature that are of national concern rather than get involved in trivial matters, or social issues.
Q: Do you think there is a need for greater cooperation between the Parliament and the government? Because when the government comes up with a project, the Parliament votes against it, hindering development.
A: It's too early to judge this Parliament. It has just taken office, and then there was the recess and then there was Ramadan before the Eid holidays began. But in the previous Parliament, I think, there was a cooperation problem.
However, I think if everyone of us think of the country first and then ourselves, we will be able to solve a lot of the problems. We are all there to serve the country, all of us, whatever profession. When you are in the Parliament, your priority should be on how to make things better, and not how to create obstacles. It's easy for anyone to create obstacles. It's easy to be negative. But we should be positive and try and facilitate development and progression.
Q: From your experience as a newscaster, as a person who is dealing with people from different walks of life, what is the general mood of the country... is it one of negativism or optimism?
A: I think people are pessimistic because they don't see any solid economic plans happening. There are lots of projects that have been in the pipeline for long. The Failaka project has been in talks since 1991, soon after liberation. It's been a good 18 years down the line, and nothing has happened to it. This kind of a laidback attitude from the lawmakers is making people critical of them.
I mean, it's okay to criticize, because it's normal in any country. When people are not happy with what they have been handed, then they criticize. But for the nation, it's very important that we have a positive outlook.
We have to put our country above everything else. Without your country you are nothing. That's the bottom line. Until we learn to work for the country, I don't think things will move ahead.
The lawmakers should make sure the country is moving ahead in the path of development. Look at our neighbors. Let's not compare with Dubai, because it has gone way far ahead of us. But take Bahrain for example. It's a lovely country, and I am a regular traveler to Bahrain. The country is progressing at a nice even pace, not overheating like Dubai. Bahrain is very organized. The government is involved in the development in a positive way. Yes, there they don't have democracy like we have... and neither does Dubai.
Kuwait being the most democratic country in the Gulf should see a lot more development. I mean, that's the whole point of democracy. But it's not happening. If we try hard we can bring back those 'Pearl of the Gulf' days of the 80's, when Dubai and Bahrain were nowhere near us, and everyone was coming to Kuwait.
Q: Kuwait's freedom and democracy is sometimes blamed for the country's slow progress. Do you think it's because we have too much freedom to voice opinions that our development projects get hindered?
A: The other day I was having a similar discussion with a fellow colleague in KTV. Democracy here is often equated to the right to vote. We as Kuwaitis have the right to vote and choose our lawmakers. But that's a very small part of democracy. More important is social freedom. And that's what you don't find here.
That's not the fault of the government. That's the fault of the people themselves. Because if people don't have an open mind, if they are not open to different perspectives, ideas, cultures, or nationalities, then democracy is meaningless. The government can't be blamed because it can't tell people how to behave. There is a limit to how much the government can do on this issue. The people have to understand and change.
The people will have to realize that certain fundamental changes have to be brought about to compete in this world. Currently, it is all about competition. Asia was lagging behind us twenty years ago, in the 80's. But now they are way ahead of us. I am not talking wealth, I am talking progression.
In the end it's not only about oil money, it's about the overall economy. Bahrain is progressing the way it is, because it is successfully diversifying its economy. Bahrain, according to some recent studies has only 15 years of oil left, and so they are very cleverly diversifying.
Bahrain was always good at banking, but now they are diversifying more, I think. In Dubai 60 percent of their income is from non-oil sectors. It is easy to go in for such diversification in Kuwait, because we have a fantastic infrastructure, better than anywhere else in the Gulf.
We can look at Kuwait as a tourist hub. We have so many facilities. We just need to develop the enterprise to match international standards. It would be great to open Kuwait to tourists; we have so much in our culture, art and history to show to the world.
The post-invasion period was a lovely opportunity to invite tourists. We could show the world what a country that has undergone an invasion would look like. Such a thing has never happened after the invasion, and it would have been a great opportunity for people from around to world to see and realize how invasion can despoil a wealthy nation, and how people suffer when they are invaded. But we missed that opportunity.
Who do we blame for that? Is it because of the Parliament, I don't know.
Q: You said Bahrain has only 15 years of oil left. Is there a similar fear in Kuwait? Are our resources also running out?
A: No, I don't think so. To be honest, I haven't come across any studies about the volume of Kuwait's oil resources. But I don't think that's the worry. I am not talking about diversification purely from an economic perspective. It's about pride in our country. Don't you want the world to know about Kuwait? What the country has?
I frequently travel to Europe. Once I was in Scotland, and I went to a travel agent. There they had a list of tourist locations around the world, and listed there was Dubai. So it means Dubai is a main tourist attraction, or one of the main tourist attractions in the world. Dubai was sharing the list with places like Spain, France and so on.
Wouldn't it be nice to have Kuwait on the list? I am proud of my country, and I want people to come and see it. So we have to be open to welcome others here. It's the citizens here who have to decide whether they want to open up or not. How much can a government do? They can issue legislations and pass laws, but ultimately the change has to come from the people themselves.
Sometimes I feel we are arrogant in our attitude and that doesn't help. If we continue with our red tape in the government departments and ministries, people are not going to come here. Nobody will want to invest in Kuwait. The rest of the world is trying to make it easy for foreign investors to encourage them to invest in their countries. Like they are doing in India now for example. India is cutting out all the red tape and bureaucracy, which exists there as well, to make investment climate conducive to foreigners.
If you think you have a county that you are proud of then let the world see it. And a great way to do that is by promoting tourism.
You don't have to always rely on politics for such changes. We can initiate these at a social level. We unfortunately don't have a great entertainment industry, which is a great way to reach out to the world.
India has very smartly diversified into this sector... the entertainment sector. There the society is open to new ideas and the change happens. They are not reliant on politics. The movies, music, shopping and so on ... India is a very happening place.
Dubai's development again is not political, it's totally a commercial set up. And it's selling.
Here we have the brains, the manpower, the money... but it's the decision that has to be made before it is too late.
Q: You were talking about opening up minds. As a person related to the academic field, what do you make of all the bedlam over segregation in schools and universities? Is that related to mindset as well, or is it something deeper at an ideological level?
A: I think it's the mindset of a small group of people. I don't think segregation is a mainstream thought in the society. The best example is to take the statistics of all the foreign schools in the country. Majority of students in these schools are Kuwaitis. And if Kuwaitis didn't want their children to go to coed schools, then they wouldn't put them in those schools, because there are other options.
I feel, part of opening up an economy is offering freedom of choice. That's one of the pillars of democracy... freedom of choice. It's not only about getting votes and seeking representation in the Parliament; it's also about appreciating and respecting everyone's values and viewpoints. You may have a certain set of values, and I may have a different set of values. It is okay, we should learn to live in such diversity, because that's the nature of the world we live in.
So segregation is the mindset of a small group of people. In the end, you go to any ministry in Kuwait, you see women who have made great strides and reached very top levels in their career on par with men. We have ministers who are women. You walk into any office in Kuwait we find men and women working together. It's healthy, that's the way life is, isn't it?
Like in the UK, you have only-boys schools, only-girls schools and mixed schools here in Kuwait. So the choices are there. You also have co-ed foreign schools here.
Segregation is a petty matter, and there should be a freedom of choice. It's like choosing a school. It could be British, American, French, Arabic or Indian school, we must have the freedom to put our children in any school we want.
Q: Why then do you think more Islamists are voted into the Parliament every time?
A: It's not about Islamists and non-Islamists. It's a general mindset. As an individual, whether you are a Hindu, Muslim, Christian or whatever you are, what matters the most is your allegiance to your country. If you focus on how to make your country great in the world, then all these things become trivial.
We are a great country, and we shouldn't be threatened by outsiders coming here to see our country or live here. I think on that front Kuwait is very diverse. We don't see such a diversity of people from different parts of the world like we have in Kuwait even in Europe. We have people from every corner of the world. It's interesting. You don't have to live with them, you don't have to mix with them... but it exists.
Q: Is Kuwaiti media trying to do something to change this mindset of the people?
A: I am in the news media. News is news. We basically report, that's all we can do. But through social programs, we can create change. From a news point of view, we can only report better.
Q: Is the media contributing for a change, or is it only reflective of what's going on in the society?
A: I think they are reflective mainly. Some of the private channels have different social programs. The private channels have more budgets to do something like that. In KTV we have social programs but they are mainly in Arabic and I work for the English channel as English is my mother tongue.
We also show a great deal of foreign programs. That in itself is a door to change, because it lets you acquaint yourself with alien cultures and different perceptions, provided they are decent programs, not showing crime and such things. Social dramas, family problems and how people sort them out and such programs can uplift you in a nice way.
Media always has a role to play. But you can't do much with news. Of course you can show various viewpoints, but it's always on a political level, not social level.
Q: Do you hold chat shows, because that's one platform where you can bring issues close to the people's heart for open discussions?
A: Yes, there are many chat shows, but most of them are in Arabic, because most of your audiences are Arab speaking. I come on radio for a breakfast show, where my colleague and I chat on a variety of issues.
We talk on issues that affect our everyday life like traffic. Now this is one topic which incorporates a lot of values. Discipline and tolerance... these are very important values that we have to have to make traffic more orderly. Driving now a days can be very scary.
You can have police patrols every 10 meters, and if they pull violators then virtually the whole road can be pulled up going by the way people drive.
I think traffic lessons should start at home, because it is about good manners, discipline, tolerance and so on. That's a social issue.
A lot of political issues begin as social issues. In fact it is the same people in the society who are in the Parliament. So these problems are bound to move up.
I think we need to improve our parenting skills, than have our kids brought up 24 hours by maids. Because these maids are maids, and are not necessarily trained to be nannies. They do their best. To have them as helpers is fine. But to have them bring up your children is not good.
Therefore, the root of the problem I think begins at home. I am not a politician, and so I don't want to get into politics. But socially, the problems begin at home. The way you behave depends on how you have been brought up, and what values have been instilled in you.
Q: Do you think there has been a change in social values over the years in Kuwait?
A: I think the family values have deteriorated. Because you don't have a family atmosphere at home so much any more. Kids spend most of their time with maids or drivers or cooks, or whoever you leave them with. These are unskilled labors. They are not trained to undertake the big task of child rearing. You can't expect much from them. They are there only to help you, not to run your family. Children have to be brought up by parents, who should inculcate good values in them.
People have become very lazy. They leave everything to a maid or a driver. In my days, children went to school in school buses or your parents came to drop you off or pick you up. Now, you go around any school in Kuwait, you will find 90 percent of the students are picked up by drivers.
Of course, now-a-days there are financial needs, and both parents have to work. But I also find that lot of young children, just 8 or 9 years old, are left alone in the malls. I find them lingering around the malls with their mobile phones. Sometimes there is a maid or driver with them, and sometimes they are alone. That's not good parenting, especially with the influences these days. Life has changed all over the world, and you have to watch out where your kids go. I won't let my son go to the mall alone. He is 13.
Kuwait is not the same as it was 20 years ago. I think nowhere in the world it is the same. We have to be very careful about children falling into bad company.
Q: What has brought about these changes? Is it excessive consumerism?
A: I think it is a lot of money and comforts. Over 90 percent of the people are in government jobs, so you are getting a fairly cushy life. Of course cost of living has gone up in the last two years, and at least some are finding it difficult to make ends meet. But event then, you are comfortable. Kuwaitis are well cared for by the government ... it's that cradle to the grave system, which is great. Many countries have this system, for example France. But this should not make you shirk your responsibilities of bringing up your family, and it seems that we have an obsession with maids in this country. You don't see this in any other Gulf country; at least it's not so rampant there.
You go to any other Gulf country for holiday, and the only families who have their maids in tow are the Kuwaiti families. You don't see the Bahrainis or the Emiraties doing that. Yes, in odd cases, but it's not the rule there. Can't we take care of our own kids? Do we need our maids to do it all the time? I don't know if it is a mark of social status or it's just for the sake of comfort. It's easy to have someone do everything for you. I understand when old people rely on domestic helps. Also when both parents work, there is a need for maids. But there has to be a balance. You may be tired when you return from work, but you still have to sit with your kids and help them with their homework. I do it, my wife does it. And it's great to do that. When your kids grow up, these will be the times they will remember and cherish. And that I find is missing in today's society.
© Arab Times 2008
